Lakers reclaim home court advantage
- Source: The Global Times
- [22:38 May 24 2009]
- Comments
By Wang Wei
Trevor Ariza (No.3) steals the ball and is fouled. Photo: AFP
Kobe Bryant scored 41 points and made 15 of 17 free throws as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-97 yesterday, snapping the Nuggets' 16-game home wining streak and taking a 2-1 series lead.
Bryant hit a key three-pointer to give Los Angeles a one-point lead with just over a minute remaining in game three of the Western Conference final.
Bryant's three-pointer was not quite as dramatic as LeBron James' buzzer beating jumper Saturday, which gave Cleveland a 96-95 win, but it did the trick for the Lakers.
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half for Denver. Guard Chauncey Billups had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Nuggets, who were playing in their first conference final in two dozen years.
The Lakers, who suffered a bitter loss at home in game two to give away their home court advantage, started the game slowly at Denver's Pepsi Center. Power forward Chris Anderson's monster jam gave the home side a 25-17 lead, only for Bryant to narrow it to 28-26 at the end of the first quarter.
Carmelo Anthony reacts late in the fourth quarter. (inset)
The Nuggets continued to keep up the defensive pressure the following quarter, with Bryant's turnaround jumper four minutes into the second giving them their first field goal in the quarter. The Lakers tied the game at 39-39 as Bryant made a series of baskets in the paint, but Denver then fought back with a 5-0 run for a 52-48 lead at half time.
Lakers evened the score at 64 with 4:46 left in the third when Brant slammed down guard Luke Walton's alley-oop pass and drew the foul. But forward J.R Smith, who did not score in the first half, lead the Nuggets' reply with consecutive three-pointers. Smith's buzzer-beating three-pointer ended their spurt to make it 79-71 at the end of the third quarter.
The Nuggets led for the majority of the game, but they allowed the Lakers to take control late in the game by shooting just five-of-22 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Lakers tightened up their defense to gradually cut Nuggets lead in the final 12 minutes. Bryant set up Ariza for a open three-pointer that gave the Lakers their first lead with 7:32 left, before pulling up for a spectacular jumper to make it 83-80.
The two teams traded leads until Bryant's three-pointer and a free throw put the Lakers on top 97-95. Reminiscent of game one, when an Ariza steal late in the game helped propel the Lakers to a game one win, Ariza stole a Kenyon Martin inbounds pass and then was fouled by Anthony with 36 seconds remaining. Ariza sank both foul shots to make it 99-95 and help clinch the win.
“It was deja vu of game one. He [Ariza] made a great play,” Anthony said.
The Lakers took home court advantage over and looking forward to making it 3-1 in game four tomorrow before the series heads back to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Agencies also contributed to the story